Problems with 2001 Ford Taurus SUSPENSION

Rear coil spring failure on ford taurus 01. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford taurus. upon taking the vehicle to the dealer for brake work, the mechanic discovered that both rear coil springs failed. the driver's side of the vehicle sustained tire damage. the current and failure mileages were 63,000.

Noise was noticed coming from rear driver's side tire. sounded like brake pad sticking. after a couple of miles of driving the tire blew out. when investigating tire failure it was found the spring had broken and punctured the tire. the failure just happened today therefore there has been no resolution. vehicle will have to be towed to dealership for repairs. *tr

Our 2001 ford taurus had been sitting in the garage for 4 months. my wife backed out of the driveway and heard a noise. i drove it around the block and heard the noise also. i removed the right rear wheel and discovered the right rear strut spring had broken and was rubbing on the tire. nothing physical was done to cause this fracture; the fracture appears to be fresh, but the outside surface of the spring appears to be corroded. *tr

I received a recall notice from ford motor company on 4/7/08 that my 2001 ford taurus was being recalled to have front anti-corrosion shields installed on the front springs. on 4/8/08 the lt front spring rusted through and punctured the left front tire. had i been driving at the time i would have been pulled into oncoming traffic. i contacted ford customer service and was told sorry the car was out of warranty by 3900 miles even though it was a recall problem. i tried to explain that 4/7/08 was the first notice i received and was told that they had been trying to recall the car since 2004 but had been sending the notices to the previous owner. i purchased the car in 2006. it did not matter that was the first notice i had received. i was told that it was my fault because i had purchased a used vehicle. i was also told they were not responsible because illinois was slow to update their database for ford. i am now responsible for a 900.00 repair bill. had they contacted me in a timely manner, the shields would have been installed in 2006. i was also told that any prudent consumer looks for any recalls on that vehicle on the corporate web site before purchasing the vehicle. this was a safety issue and ford took no responsibility for it. they had a design flaw and are taking no responsibility for it. *tr

I have a 2001 ford taurus purchased from dan buckey ford in chestnut ridge, ny (now diamond ford). a few years ago (2005 i think) we received notice about defective front coil springs. we took the car into the dealer and had shields installed that were supposed to protect from tire blowouts. they also said the front coil springs warranty would be extended to 150,000 miles. while the car was in the dealer, they told us that the left rear coil spring was broken. this was not covered under the recall or the warranty. we had to pay $600 to get it repaired. yesterday, the right rear coil spring broke. again, not covered under warranty. coil springs should rarely break on cars. if the front springs are defective, then it makes sense that the rear springs are too. this is an outrage and ford should be held accountable. *tr

Rear passenger coil spring broke, dug into the rear side of the tire all the way around down to the belt. i found it by accident when washing my wife's car, could have been a real disaster because she drove on the freeway earlier that day. replacing both springs and tire at a cost of approx $500. *tr

Heard rubbing sound then felt rear tire "pop" and deflate. on removal of rear passenger side tire found suspension spring broke and cause of tire failure. had car towed to dealership and am having rear springs and shocks replaced as well as destroyed rear tire. *tr

My mother owns a 2001 ford taurus, and we recently discovered that the rear, driver-side, coil spring has broken. fortunately, this did not cause any additional damage, such as a flat tire from the spring puncturing the tire and potentially causing an accident. several certified mechanics has informed me that this is "a common problem" with these coil springs on these and similar vehicles. i have also confirmed that there already exists a recall on the front coil springs that also have a similar problem. my understanding is that the dealerships are installing a "shield" on the front coil springs to prevent the spring from damaging the tire when the coil spring breaks. at that point, when the spring breaks, the dealerships will then replace the front coil springs at no charge. in my opinion, i feel the rear coil springs should fall under this same recall. i have got to believe that the front and rear coil springs are very similar in engineering design. at this point, the dealership is more than willing to install the rear coil springs at $385.02. *tr

Rear coil spring fractured resulting in blown tire. *tr

The engine cradle, or subframe on my vehicle completely rusted into, the frame rusted from the inside, showing no obvious indications on the external, visible part of the frame, this incident came without warning, until the front control arm mount broke loose from the frame, while my wife was driving down the road, causing her to loose control... the body is solid with no rust, and vehicle is kept under carport... *tr

Rear coil spring is broken. we discovered the broken spring when it started making a hard rubbing noise against the tire. upon inspection, it appears by the rust and corrosion on the fractured end that it has been broken for some time. we travel out of town often as our daughters are both in college out of area. this would have been fatal if the tire would have shredded from the broken spring on the washington dc beltway. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford taurus. when the contact took the vehicle to the dealer for new tires, she was informed that both rear leaf springs failed. the rear springs were rubbing against the tires. the dealer stated that the springs could puncture the tires and cause great harm. the repair would cost $600. the purchase date was unknown. the current and failure mileages were 100,000. updated 04/14/08. *lj updated 04/11/08 *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford taurus. while driving 20 mph, the front coil spring failed and made a loud banging noise. the coil spring punctured the front passenger side tire. in 2002, ford placed a protective cover over the coil spring. the cover was removed when the struts were replaced in 2007. the vehicle will be towed to the dealer. nhtsa campaign id number 04v332000 (suspension: front:springs:coil springs) was referenced. the purchase date was unknown. the current and failure mileages were 92,000.

I am a owner of a 2001 ford taurus which i bought used and have owned it now for 2 years. it is the first ford i have owned in over 20 years. since i have owned it, it has not given me too many problems, just the basic break downs like, batteries, brakes ,seized a/c compressor,coolant expansion tank cracked, ect. those things are going to break. but what has really upset me is how i have read about the coil springs breaking on the taurus and causing possible damage to the vehicle. i didn't think it would happen to me but after arriving home today i noticed a small piece of metal under my 01 taurus and after further observation i found it to be a piece of my rear coil spring from the drivers side. i am a 40+ year old male who has had many makes and models of different types of vehicles and have never had or heard of coil springs breaking as they do on the ford taurus. this is a problem that needs to be repaired by ford and not the consumer. so i can only expect that the rest of the springs are faulty and need to be replaced before i have any further damage to my vehicle. it seems to me that the ford company does not care about craftmanship or the consumers safety. so change your slogan " have you driven a ford lately" to " your riding on faulty coil springs". this is a serious problem that is a major safety issue and needs to be corrected free of charge to all ford taurus owners. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford taurus. the contact's vehicle was included in nhtsa campaign id number 04v332000 (suspension:front:springs:coil springs). the dealer placed a shield on the vehicle as the remedy. on february 28, 2008, she took the vehicle to the dealer for an oil change and was informed that both rear coil springs malfunctioned and were cracked. the dealer was surprised that they were still holding. the dealer repaired the vehicle at that time. the current and failure mileages were 48,900. update 04-02-08 *bf

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford taurus. while driving 50 mph, the rear coil spring failed and caused the vehicle to sway left and right. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic and they stated that both rear coil springs and shock absorbers needed to be replaced. the repair would cost $350. the failure and current mileages were 88,000. updated 03-28-08 *bf

While driving on city streets under normal conditions the right rear coil spring broke. it missed the tire by less than one inch and rubbed against the rim. i called ford because we had an identical failure with the front springs over the summer, they were a recalled item and were replaced free of charge. ford informed me that the rear were not covered under a recall. i am repairing the vehicle myself, the cost will be around $150.00. this cost would be significantly higher if the spring would have hit the tire, and could have possibly caused an accident. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford taurus. the contact heard a thumping sound and took the vehicle to a local mechanic. he was informed that the rear coil springs fractured. the mechanic replaced both rear coil springs in february and august of 2008. the coil springs currently need to be replaced again. the contact has scheduled an appointment for august 12, 2008 to have the repairs made. he called the dealer and they stated that there was a recall on the front coil springs, but not the rear. the recall number was unknown. the failure mileage was 43,000 and current mileage was 50,000.

Left rear suspension coil spring fractured destroying tire. *tr

My '01 taurus ses with 62k was making a loud noise from the rear. took it for an inspection and found the left rear spring was broken. it scratched the inner side of the tire but did not puncture it. as a consequence and $400 later i had the springs replaced. this car was involved in the front spring shield recall. the repair shop told me that the most common repair on the taurus/sable and focus is broken rear springs. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford taurus. the vehicle failed inspection due to fractured front coil springs. the dealer stated that the rear coil springs also needed to be replaced. the dealer replaced the front coil springs according to the recall; however, the rear coil springs were not included. the recall number was unknown. the failure and current mileages were 69,000.

Rear coil spring broke. left part of rear coil spring on garage floor-no damage to vehicle. spring was replaced. *tr

Rear coil spring broke while in parking lot. *tr

Rear suspension coil broke on our 2001 ford taurus. it caused my wife to fishtail, due to puncture of tire by broken end of coil in wintertime. luckily for us there were no other cars on the road or an accident would have ensued, though my wife is currently suffering a migraine from the whiplash. i hold ford responsible for being aware of coil product problems, having recalled the front springs in 2005. i hold them responsible for not publicly asserting the problems with both front and rear suspension as complaints arose and specifically telling consumers that the rear suspension spring/coil was not and/or would not be recalled. i find this to be unacceptable, and believe that the piece should be recalled, and every consumer reimbursed for the expense of repair and replacement prior to the recall by ford motor co. it's for this very reason that so many american consumers are turning to foreign manufacturers. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford taurus. the contact stated that the springs and struts on the rear of the vehicle failed. if driven, the struts could puncture the tires. she did not realize the failure until january 14, 2009 after new tires were placed on the vehicle. she stated that the front end of the vehicle was recalled for the same issue and the rear springs and struts should be recalled as well. the vehicle has not been repaired. the failure occurred without warning. the current and failure mileages were 65,000. updated 02-23-09 *bf the consumer noticed the vehicle was not staying on the road properly when the roads were wet. the consumer had great difficulty maintaining the vehicle. the consumer had the tires replaced and in the process she was informed the springs were broken. updated 02/25/09. *jb

My daughter came home last night and i went to check her car this morning and found a flat tire on the left rear. pumped it up and heard air leaking out, removed it and found the coil spring sticking out had cut the tire down and punctured it. i replaced the coil and strut as a unit from advance with a monroe which has a 5/8 coil spring, the original from ford was 1/2". ford had a recall , campaign # 04v3320000 for the coil springs on the front , why not the rear as well? its apparent they had a problem with the rear as you have 60 complaints before mine. does it take a death to make them fix the problem? our car only has 42,211 miles on it today when i replaced the strut and tire. we purchased the car from an individual, at the ford dealers lot, as it had been parked there after body work had been performed and been setting for over a year , it only had 18,000 miles on it 2 years ago. i have the old strut with broken spring, it has a small crack that shows some rust in the edge, and has a ductile fracture clean break with no rust in it. i'm a cat mechanic with some training in failure analysis, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. *tr

Heard a bang heading off an off ramp and car shot into guard rail with drivers side of car breaking headlight, bumper, bending hood, fender and door and various scratches along side of car. had car towed to dealer where purchased upon investigation both front coil springs were broken and front tires were shredded. as repairs were being made i found there was a ford recall on the front coil springs for the fractures an shredding of tires. never received recall notice. the ford motor company, after repairs were made, don't want to reimburse repairs made because the repairs weren't made through them and refuse to pay the body damage. *tr

Right rear coil spring broke. *tr

Both rear coils springs are broken. *tr

Dealer found all four springs broken after car was grinding on rear tire. dealer is replacing front ones per recall but i feel rear springs are also prone to failure and ford should issue a recall. car suffered tire damage to right rear wheel. *tr

Failure/fracture of front suspension coil springs and related tire damage. my car was repaired as far as the front suspension is concerned under warranty only for springs. my concern is future spring failure on rear suspension which is known to have similar failures with no safety recall in effect at this time. despite the nhtsa tests on similar vehicle defect, i am not convinced that the potential for a loss of vehicle control incident is unlikely. i wonder if one of the nhtsa persons responsible for the test information would let me trade vehicles with them. would they be willing to drive this car for extended use on crowded interstate highways in all weather conditions like so many of us do? the parts in question fail because of corrosion. in most cases the spring breaks at the lower first coil, ford has installed a shield to prevent related tire damage per nhtsa campaign id number: 04v332000 here is my point as plainly as i can put it. these springs will corrode at any location due to stone chips or other surface imperfections. as a result these springs have the potential to break at any location rendering the shield at the lower coil useless. the result could be a loss of vehicle control regardless of which, front or rear, position. should not ford motor company be mandated to at least inspect these parts for corrosion in other than the common point of failure, and if necessary replace them? ford has introduced replacement springs with improved corrosion resistant coatings, but in the case of the rear suspension springs on the same vehicles known to have similar failures, there is no current consumer protection mandated. please tell me that you are going to correct this issue. isn't it obvious that at best this problem is only half corrected! since when is that good enough? thanks for all your successes in the matter of motor vehicle safety! i hope this issue will soon be added to the list. bob zamost *tr

My wife owns a 2001 ford taurus in which the driver's side rear coil spring broke while backing it out of the garage. it had already been taken to the dealership for a recall on the front springs because one of them broke while i was driving it. after contacting the ford customer assistance center (1-800-392-3673) today, they told me that they don't have a recall on this problem and all costs to repair would be mine. obviously they have a problem with this model year and they won't stand behind their product. the car currently has 87,400 miles on it. this doesn't seem like a lot considering the type of failure that has occurred again. i also noticed a number of complaints posted on the internet about this problem. *tr

Left rear coil spring broke while car was in parking lot and being occupied by 4 adults. broken spring did not come in contact with tire, but was dangerously close. ford garage on vacation diagnosed problem and cut away enough of the spring end to safely clear tire to be able to drive the car 320 miles from vacation to home. arranged for home town ford garage to replace both rear coil springs for $400. *tr

Broken rear springs on 2001 ford taurus cost over 500 to replace. front springs defective also and caused flat tire. springs in front replaced at ford cost. i was not reimbursed for tire. *tr

Back coil springs on 2001 ford taurus broke.*cn

2001 ford taurus. rear springs have broken. would have punctured a tire, but was able to grind off broken part of spring. have not repaired spring yet, only have ground off point of spring. *tr

Rear coil springs and struts broken on 2001 ford taurus ses. blowout of tire due to broken coil puncturing tire. *tr

Broken rear spring on a 2001 taraus se. *tr

Brought in my 2001 ford taurus for a front end shake and was informed by the mechanic that all 4 coil springs were broken! *tr

On 10/16/07 , my local dealership changed my oil and rotated my tires and identified a broken rear coil spring on my 2001 ford taurus se, the mechanic told me he is seeing a trend between 2001-2003 models, he informed me continued driving without repair would likely result in a blown tire, perhaps being hazardous. i've made an immediate appointment to replace rear coil springs. *jb

I was parking my car when i heard a loud bang come from the rear of the car. i didn't find anything wrong after looking under the car. later when i attempted to drive away i heard a scraping noise coming from the rear of the car. i thought it might be the brakes so i had it towed to a repair shop. after the mechanic inspected the vehicle, he told me both rear springs were broken and the scraping noise was the broken left rear spring rubbing on the tire. i was lucky that i wasn't driving otherwise the broken spring would have eventually cut the tire. *tr

2001 ford taurus - left and right rear coil springs - broken. repaired october 2007. cost including the replacement of left and right rear struts $965.87. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford taurus. while performing a routine check-up, the mechanic noticed that the rear coil spring failed and was striking the rear driver side tire. the vehicle was repaired. the current and failure mileages were 51,000.

Took my car in for new tires and was informed that both rear springs were broke. the tires had a groove wore in them.

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford taurus. when the contact took her vehicle to the dealer to have the tires rotated and balanced, she was informed that the front and rear coil springs were broken. the dealer replaced the front coil springs at no charge, but would not replace the rear coil springs. the cost to repair the rear coil springs is $185.64 plus the $59.99 alignment. the purchase date was unknown. the current and failure mileages were 79,900. the consumer stated feels ford should reimburse all consumers for rear coils springs and alignment. updated 09/18/07 *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 ford taurus. while driving 15 mph, the contact heard a crunking sound and the vehicle experienced brake failure. he pulled the vehicle to the side of the road and it was towed to the repair shop. the mechanic stated that the two rear coil springs failed and needed to be replaced, in addition to the struts. everything has been replaced. the current mileage was 59,000 and failure mileage was 58,300.

2001 ford taurus, passenger rear coil spring broken. caused stabilizer link damage, tire damage. one year ago a front spring broke and was replaced under recall by ford. this is the same problem/defect and ford should stand behind this as it did the front spring defect. *tr

Ford dealer mechanic informed us that right rear spring is broken on 2001 ford taurus. he advised us that vehicle is unsafe to drive. *tr

Rear coil spring broke and punctured tire. the mechanic said that he sees this problem frequently with 2001 taurus models. rear tires and coil springs needed to be replaced. there was no crash, but there could have easily have been. this car was purchased to be a safe family car to transport an infant-the consequences of this failure could have been very severe.